What are we looking for?

Jericho Primary School Governing Board is made up of Parents, Staff, Local Authority and Co-opted Governors. Coopted Governors include both parents and members of the community. Our Governors may come to us through a variety of routes and with a range of different backgrounds, skills and experiences, but they are volunteers who work together for the benefit of the school and are the link between the school and the community it serves.

We are currently looking for 2 new parent Governors and would be delighted to hear from anyone who has:

• A keen interest in the performance of the school
• A desire to contribute to and represent the community
• An open and enquiring mind
• The ability to look at issues objectively
• The confidence to ask questions
• A willingness to listen and make informed judgements
• The ability to work well with others

What can we offer?

Being a Governor can be enjoyable, stimulating and rewarding. It can also offer:

• A chance to develop skills in strategic management
• The opportunity to work with our team of governors and staff in improving our school
• Training to develop an understanding of specific school management issues
• A sense of achievement in making a difference to our school
• The pleasure of helping students reach their potential

What is the Governing Board's Role?

The Governing Body of Jericho Primary School has three core functions:

• Setting Strategic Direction - championing our vision, values and ethos and setting priorities for school improvement
• Holding to account - we are responsible for holding the Head Teacher and Senior Leaders to account for the quality of teaching and learning, levels of achievement, behaviours and safety
• Ensuring good financial governance - ensuring good financial management by setting and overseeing the budget, ensuring that resources are allocated to school priorities and needs

In practice, though, the Governing Board can be best described as a 'critical friend'. The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, and for Jericho Primary School that means creating an environment where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential; children, teaching and support staff. The Governing Board is there to provide a framework which helps the Head Teacher to deliver the aims and vision of Jericho Primary School and enables her to reach her potential through the right mix of support and challenge.

Parent governors play a vital role on governing bodies, holding the unique position of having a parental viewpoint of the school. Through the children, they have a first-hand experience of the delivery of the curriculum, and how the school is perceived from the ‘consumers’ point of view. This enables parent governors to bring a different perspective to the strategic management of the school. It is important for parent governors to establish a rapport with the parental body which elected him/her, whilst continuing to maintain a strategic approach to school governance. Although being available to advise parents on appropriate routes of action is a very important aspect of the role, it is vital that parent governors do not personally become involved in individual concerns. Apart from the possibility of this jeopardising appropriate complaints and appeals procedures, no governor has the authority to act individually on behalf of the school.

Parent governors are representative parents rather than representatives of parents.

To effectively fulfil the role, parent governors should:

• make themselves known to the parent body

• try to attend in-service training sessions

• listen impartially to concerns raised by parents

• guide parents regarding appropriate lines of action and procedures • present a balanced view of issues, representing different sections of the community

Remember

Please don’t be put off by thinking that you have to have specialist experience or knowledge. Enthusiasm and interest is much more important to start with and there is training and support to help

you, including an induction programme and training provided through the Local Authority, as well as experienced Governors to support you.

If you are interested, please submit the attached expression of interest email to: Clerk to the Governors, Jericho Primary School, Windsor Court, Whitehaven, CA28 6UX or via the school email: admin@jericho.cumbria.sch.uk